Why blog?

Ok, so deep breath, here it goes...I am blogging!

I am a firm believer that if you are going to ask someone else to do something (and even tell them that it is good for them), then you better be willing to do it yourself. So here I am in the world of bloggers because I have decided to require students to set up a blog as part of an assignment for our upcoming study abroad course.

Why blogging, some of you might ask? Well, at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University), faculty are continuously encouraged to use new technology to enhance student learning. From what I can tell so far, blogging seems a lot like writing a reflective journal, only you are making your thoughts and reflections public for all to read. I am hoping that this process helps to motivate students to engage in active reflection and also to share with others the work we will be doing as part of this course (details to come).

For my part, I will use this blog to share my own reflections on the growing pains involved in running my first study abroad course and taking small steps towards improving the lives of children in a developing country. I truly hope that others will be able to use the information we share either to set up similar programs or simply to learn from our mistakes...